


Dancing With Life

by Kitkat12323



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Gen, Self-Indulgent, and now Kendra/Palmer count, idk if i'll even finish it, just something that's been playing in my head for a while, romance? maybe it you squint, though i guess Kendra/Carter count?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-23 09:05:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6111652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitkat12323/pseuds/Kitkat12323
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Zoe’s life was changed was when she died while excavating a tomb with her archaeology team and then brought back to life. Given abilities by the Egyptian God of the Underworld, Osiris, she didn’t think her life could change anymore. When a time traveler tells her she’s needed to help save the future, Zoe wonders if it would have been better to have died in that tomb.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Saving the future...maybe

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a self-indulgent fic I made while watching the new show. I'm not even sure I'll continue this as of now. It's fun to watch and I've always enjoyed a good superhero show. My OC is more of an experiment from what I normally do and I'm not really sure how to portray her well. I'll see where this show goes and where this fic goes.

“Next recruit, Zoe Marshals. Former name Zoe Willis and many other aliases. Former archaeologist. Born 1901 yet still looks like she’s in her mid to late twenties. Her abilities are only known as necromancy like.”

\----

“Soooo how ‘bout a date, gorgiz?” Zoe rolled her eyes at the half drunk man next to her. She had been ignoring him since he had decided to sit next to her. Her patience had slowly been waning each time he had tried to touch her and made comments about her “lovely brown sugar skin.”

Taking the last sip of her drink, she stood from the stool. “No thanks, buddy.” Paying her bill, she quickly made her way out of the bar. The night air was warm as always, though a cool breeze had started blowing. She briskly made her way across the street and down an alley. The sounds of traffic and people filled the night.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as a chill went down her body. Something felt off, but she continued her trek down the alley, moving a bit faster. Just as she got to the other end of the alley, she jumped when a man suddenly appeared. He wore a brown trench coat from what she could tell from the lack of lighting.

“Fuck!” She stopped short and clutched her chest. Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest. “Way to scare a girl!”

“I do apologize for scaring you and for this.” His accent was distinctly British. He suddenly pulled out something that resembled a gun. Before she could react a bright flash blinded her and she knew no more.

\----

The next thing Zoe felt was her pounding head. “Oh, what a headache!” That definitely wasn’t her voice.

“Stein? What the hell are you doing here?” another voice asked.

“I’m as ignorant as you for once.”

As she slowly picked herself off the cold ground, she looked at the male next to her. He was a black male in his twenties from what she could tell. Checking that all her limbs were intact, Zoe caught a glimpse of the rest of the people also on the ground.

“Where are we?” At least someone was asking the same question she was wondering herself.

The male next to her sounded irritated as he spoke. “Why don’t you ask the dude who knocked us out and kidnapped us. British dude with the flashy thing ring any bells?” He raised his arms out.

“I knew I should have stayed home and just binge watched Warehouse 13,” she mumbled. The man next to her raised an eyebrow. Zoe shrugged.

“The name’s Rip Hunter,” a familiar British voice called. Zoe looked to her left to see the would be kidnapper. “I’m from East London. Oh. And the future.” He came closer as she picked herself up. She had the urge to snort at his dramatic entrance.

A large man, who was bald, reached his right hand for something. “Nice to meet you, Rip.” He looked to his side where a strange looking gun hung on his hip.

“Uh, while you were incapacitated, I may have tampered with your weapons,” he admitted before baldy could take it out.

Zoe’s eyes wandered to the rest of the group as hunter talked about something or other. She knew for sure he said something about the future. There were two people, a man and woman, in weird leather get-up. Another woman, blond, in a beige coat stood next to the other woman. A man in a very high-tech looking suit. An older male with white hair and glasses. Another male with a dark blue winter jacket.

Coming back to the conversation, the green eyed woman listened as the two in leather talked about a man named Vandal Savage. From what she understood, they thought they had killed him, but he actually was alive because he was immortal. He was also the reason the future was in peril.

“Vandal’s immortal. Kendra and I reincarnate,” said the male, pointing to the female.

The blond nodded. “Yeah. I’ve done that.” Her tone was flat.

Zoe bit her lip. “I’ve died and been brought back to life. Twice.” she muttered more to herself, but the black male heard her as he gave her another strange look.

“What the hell does this Randal guy have to do with us?” Baldy sounded put off.

“Vandal,” Hunter corrected. “In the future he will employ the evil he has perfected over his long life from the power he has amassed throughout history to finally...conquer the world.”

He paused, his voice sounded off to Zoe. Then he continued. “I’ve been tasked with assembling an elite team to stop him.”

“How?” Zoe really wanted to know how before she decided to jump off the roof, though she'd probably be brought back to life since she had tried that once already. This was not her cup of tea at all.

Raising his hand up and making an arch, he said, “To travel through time. To capture Savage before he grows into the monster he becomes.”

Suddenly Parka stepped forward. “You got the wrong guy. Hero ain’t on my resume.” He started to walk away.

“Or mine,” said Baldy before starting to follow Parka.

Hunter called to Parka. “I know it’s difficult to fathom, but where-when I’m from, the year 2166, you and everyone on this roof aren’t just considered heroes. You’re legends.”

Zoe slowly shook her head as everyone became silent for a moment. She had no plans on being a hero, not that she hadn't tried once, and definitely not a legend. She just wanted to return to her life as a professor of archaeology and spending nights eating coffee ice cream.

“Legends?” The man in the super suit sounded interested as he walked closer.

Zoe could also see that the white haired man looked intrigued but also skeptical. “I, uh, hate to nitpick, but doesn’t a legend have to be dead?”

“Yeah, see, that’s a deal breaker for me too,” said the black man. “So, I’m going to pass.”

Stepping forward, the black haired woman spoke out loud. “I rather not experience certain death unless it’s from old age. I like my life as it is.” She didn't add that old age was probably not going to be a factor in her death.

“It’s dangerous for any of you to know too much about your own futures, but I am here because each of you, as individuals, is destined for greatness.” Hunter’s eyes fell on Super suit, and Zoe could tell that he seemed to be seriously considering it.

Super suit nodded slowly. “I can get behind that.”

“I can’t!” Zoe shouted. Everyone looked at her startled. She had had enough. “I don’t know why you brought me here. I’m not a hero nor do I own a fancy suit or anything remotely close to earth’s savior of the future! I’m just a former archaeologist, who now teaches archaeology at Stanford University. I like my life simple and I’ve been able to keep it like that for the past ninety-two years. I do not need some British time traveling monkey to ruin it!”

She was breathing heavily when she had finished her rant. The roof was silent as everyone stared at her. She realized she had said a bit more than she should have, but it was too late to take anything back.

“I understand you’re confused and frustrated, but I think you should know what is in store for your world one hundred and fifty years from now before you make a decision.” He turned and pulled out a remote like object. Everyone watched as the skyline of the city was slowly replaced by a smoked filled sky and fiery projectiles falling on it.

Zoe’s eyes widened as she saw the devastation. She could only image the many deaths of innocent people taking place. Her anger melted as fear overtook her at the future that she might live in.

The image faded. “I could have chosen any time or any place,” he mumbled. Turning, he looked at them. “Of all the people who ever lived, I chose you nine. I certainly hope that you won’t let me...and the world down.”

As silence reigned in the group, Zoe could only stare at her feet. The future he had shown looked horrifying. She couldn’t imagine the type of man who would be willing to cause it. Yet, she still wondered why she was chosen. She was just a former archaeologist. Well, she had an idea why he did. Still how did he know about her?

Hunter starting moving. He stopped at the white haired man and handed him a piece of paper. “If your answer is yes, meet me at this address in thirty-six hours.”

She watched as the strange man left them on the roof. Zoe wondered what in the world had just happened.

* * *

“Well, what do you think? Crazy, huh?” Zoe sighed as she stared at the slab of rock. It felt strange to be back in Central City after so many years. Having been constantly covering up her tracks, Zoe hadn’t had time to stop and visit her parents after their deaths.

**_Matthew Bourne_ **

**_May 21, 1870 - December 1, 1978_ **

**_Ester Bourne_ **

**_January 13, 1875 - February 29, 1979_ **

Her eyes drifted to the tomb stone right next to it. It was her own grave. Of course there was no body buried there as she was alive. Yet, her parents had to have a funeral for their only child. Even though she was adopted, they treated her like their own.

**_Zoe Bourne_ **

**_April 1, 1900 - June 30, 1924_ **

**_A life ended too soon_ **

“Why should I go on this ridiculous thing? I’ve died twice and I don’t really want to die again or I’ll be forced to see Osiris again,” Zoe mumbled to herself.

Suddenly a hot wind blew at her neck. She blinked and the Central City graveyard was gone. It was replaced by dunes of endless sand. Looking down at her spot, she cupped the warm sand in her hand and let it fall. The sun blazed brightly in the clear blue sky.

Standing, she looked around. “Damn it…”

“Ankh.”

Turning back around, Zoe scowled at the God before her. “My name is Zoe. Stop calling me Ankh, I’m not one of your symbols.”

Anpu, better known as Anubis, was once the God of the dead but was later changed to the God of lost souls, judgement and the guide for souls, stared down at her with his dark eyes. The head of a jackal and body of a man unnerved Zoe a lot even though she had met with him many times throughout her long life. Still he wasn't as scary as a Osiris and she saw the jackal God as more of a mentor despite her unease.

He ignored her comment. “You must go on this mission that this man has given you.”

Raising a brow, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Why should I?”

“Osiris commands it. This is the reason he brought you back to life both times. You remember how he said he would contact you when the time came, this is the time. You must protect the priestess Chay-Ara and her lover, Khufu,” he explained.

“Who?” Zoe was starting to feel a headache coming on. She remembered the God's words when she first met him. He was saving her for something important but until then, she could live out her life as she pleased. Too bad he hadn't told her of the other changes, besides her new abilities, he had made to her. 

The God seemed to sigh, though Zoe wasn’t completely sure. “They are the ones who have been reincarnated many times that you met previously. They’re deaths have always been at the hands of Hath-Set or better known to you as Vandal Savage.”

“Hold on.” Zoe shook her head. “You’re telling me I have to protect two people, who I’ve only just met, from some guy described as a psychopathic mass murderer? Are you serious?!”

“Very. You may not have known this, but your mother’s lineage has always been born to protect these two. Unfortunately, your mother died before fulfilling her duties and you were not in Egypt for Osiris to tell you of your future.”

The brunette narrowed her eyes. “My mother? You mean the woman who gave birth to me? So I died that first time because of the fact I was supposed to fulfill a role I never wanted or agreed to? You’re telling me this now? Why didn't you explain this when I first died?!”

Anubis crossed his arms as he was losing patience with her. “If your mother hadn’t run away, you would have been informed of your destiny the moment you were old enough to understand. Unfortunately, she did run away and had you in another country. Fate intervened though and allowed Osiris to finally come in contact with you. Your previous ancestors were always killed by him as he had more experience than them. He decided it was better for you to build up experience throughout your long life to be more capable of fighting Hath-Set.”

“Fate? Fate?!” She threw up her hands. “More like you Gods used your powers to fucking kill me! I was only twenty-four and my life ended. Even though I was brought back, I still had to start all over because everyone I knew and loved assumed I was dead! I couldn’t be like ‘hey guys guess who’s back from being dead for a year’ and try and live a normal life! He didn't even tell me I could never have a normal family because everyone would die of old age or disease while I stayed the same! I had to keep everyone away from me and avoid growing attached if I didn't want to get hurt again! You have got to be kidding me. I will not do this for some God I don’t even believe in!”

She turned and tried to storm away, but the sand under her feet made it difficult. “You cannot run, Ankh. This has been your fate before you were even born. I call you Ankh because that is what you are. You are life and was given a new life by Osiris. Now you must protect the lives of two people or the lives of millions will die.”

Zoe stopped short. “You’re trying to guilt trip me into doing this, aren’t you? Funny how you call me Ankh and my name also means life, when I do the exact opposite. I may be able to bring people back to life, but it’s only partial life and that’s the worst kind of life.”

She turned to him. “If I do this, I want something in return.”

The jackal stared at her. “I cannot promise anything, but I will tell Osiris.”

“This destiny bullshit, ends with me. I will be the last person in my line to have this so called destiny of protecting Chay-Ara and Khufu. My children, grandchildren, and whoever is born from my line will not have this fate thrown on them.”

“You surprise me, Ankh. You do not want something for yourself?” he questioned.

“This is for myself. I rather not have any of my future generation suffer through this. Though, I probably won’t even have children of my own with the way I’m going,” she muttered the last part to herself.

"I will tell Osiris of your request. Only he can grant it." Anubis nodded. “Take these with you.” He produced from thin air two strange looking swords. They were straight from the hilt to about a few inches and then curved much like a sickle. They hooked at the ends and the outside of the curve looked sharp.

“Um...what are these?” She carefully took them from him, holding one in each hand. She swung them up and down gently.

"Khopesh. A type of weapon that was used a long time ago. These have been blessed by the warrior Goddess and will help you in your mission."

Zoe snorted. “How am I supposed to use these? I may have learned how to use firearms and learned hand-to-hand combat in my lifetime, but I’ve never dealt with swords of any kind.”

Anubis reached out a single pointer finger and touched her forehead. Her eyes went wide as images and words flew through her mind. It happened so fast that Zoe didn’t even know what had occurred. She felt a distinct pounding in her head, though.

“You now know how to fight with the khopesh. It is time I return to my realm.” The God turned away from her.

“Wait!” He stopped and turned to her, waiting for her question. “What if I need to contact you? How do I do that? Or can you only contact me?”

“You must meditate and think about the God you wish to speak to,” he answered and then turned back. Zoe watched as he walked a few feet away and then vanished.

Blinking once, she was back in Central City’s graveyard. She stood over her parent’s tombs as if nothing had happened. Though in her hand she held the two khopesh. At her feet lay the sheaths for the weapons.

“Great. So I wasn’t hallucinating. Too much to hope for, I guess,” she mumbled as she picked up the sheaths. “I’ll see you later, mom and dad. I guess I’m off to the save the world from its future by going to its past. Or something like that.”

With one last look, she made her way out of the graveyard. She needed call a cab to get to the meeting place.

\----

Stepping out of the cab, after paying the driver, who had given her a strange look when he saw the sheathed weapons on her lap, Zoe looked around the empty lot. There was nothing there to indicate a man from the future. She wandered closer wondering if this was all a big joke, but it couldn’t be if Osiris wanted her to go.

“Unless the God has a practical jokester side to him,” she muttered. She clenched her swords tighter in her hand.

“So you came?” Turning, Zoe saw that it was the male and female, who had been clad in leather, though they were dressed normally. Following behind them was everyone except the older man and the black male.

She nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her words. “I’m Zoe Marshals by the way.”

The male took her offered hand. “Carter. This is Kendra. We’re both reincarnations of-”

“Chay-Ara and Khufu. I’ve been given the talk by Anubis before I came,” she said, interrupting him. The confused looks on both their faces, though, was something Zoe hadn’t been expecting.

“Anubis? You mean the God with the jackal head?” Super suit asked.

Looking at both of them, Zoe started to feel skeptical. “My ancestors, from my mother’s line, watched over both of you in your many lives or so I was told. I’m supposed to be protecting you two from Vandal Savage.”

Carter shook his head. “I’ve never heard of this before.”

“We’ve died two hundred and six times. I don’t think your ancestors were doing a good job of protecting us,” Kendra muttered.

With a sigh, Zoe pinched the bridge of her nose. “Good god, what did I get myself into. Never mind what I said. Where’s Hunter?”

“Not sure. The lot was like this when we came,” answered Parka.

“Great. Well, while we wait why don’t you all enlighten me on who you are?”

Just as introductions finished, the older man, who Zoe found out was a professor, pulled into the lot in a silver car. The group headed to them. The professor looked as confused as Zoe felt as he surveyed the empty lot.

“Professor! This is the place,” Leonard Snart called.

“I think we’re being punked,” Ray said. “Do...people still say punked?”

Rolling her eyes, Zoe snorted. “No.” both she and Sara answered together.

“I see your buddy threw himself a going away party.” Mick Rory pointed out.

Looking at him, Zoe raised an eyebrow. “More like he was drugged,” she mumbled.

“Uh, yes. I believe he drank something that didn’t quite agree with him,” the professor said though Zoe was not convinced he had known what he was drinking.

Snart glanced at Kendra. “You don’t look happy to be here,” he commented.

“Perspective.” Kendra had her arms crossed and had a frown on her lips.

“Well,” a voice called, “I see you’ve all decided to come.” Hunter was met with silence. “Well then, we can be on our way.”

“I ain’t footing it anywhere.” Snart crossed his arms.

“A time master's sacred charge is to do no harm to the timeline.” He pulled out a remote looking device. “Can you image what a time ship would look like, say, Victorian England?”

“No, I can’t,” Zoe replied, a bit sarcastically. She did not comprehend anything Professor Stein said about holograms.

Whatever it was, Hunter nodded. “Indeed.” The brunette watched as he pressed a button on his device and suddenly a large ship seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Everyone was speechless. “It’s called the Wave Rider. It’s been my ship for over a decade,” Hunter said, pride in his voice. Turning to the group, he smiled. “Shall we?”

Zoe slowly followed everyone as she eyed the ship. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie. She was in awe at how large it was and strange it looked compared to any aircraft of this century. As they boarded, she could hear Stein and Palmer talking about something or other that she had no idea what it was.

She made her way around the ship, eyeing everything there was to see. “Do you like it?” Hunter asked, having slowed down so she was next to him.

“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be liking. It’s a nice ship, I guess, but I’m not big in the mechanical aspects of things.” she admitted.

“Well, I didn’t recruit you for your mechanical expertise,” he commented.

Something about that comment hit a nerve. “What did you recruit me for?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Your other abilities may come in handy.” He smiled and walked into the next part of the ship.

Zoe stood there in silence wondering what he knew about her abilities. She had never disclosed them to anyone except a few people she had worked with. Even then, those people were either long dead. Shaking her head, she went through the doors to the next area which looked like the navigation room.

“Whatever you roofied him with, I’d like some.” Rory grinned at Stein.

The professor looked appalled. “I did not roofie him.”

“Oh, I ain’t judging,” he replied. Zoe had a feeling the bald man truly wanted to know what it was Jefferson Jackson, or Jax, had consumed to be knocked out like that.

Zoe was impressed by the floating head that was Gideon, the ship’s AI. This really was turning out like a sci-fi movie. She wondered what else the ship held. Before she knew what was happening, Gideon was spewing a location and a time period.

“1975? The 70s were a better decade for me,” she commented.

Stein turned to her. “I doubt you were alive in the 70s, Ms. Marshals.”

“Why is that?” An amused smile stretched across her face as everyone looked to the two.

“Well, given your physical appearance, you’re about twenty-three to twenty-eight. This would mean you were born in the late 1980s to early 1990s. I can’t imagine that you are older than thirty,” he explained.

Zoe chuckled. “Well you’re right about one thing. I do look like I’m in my twenties. Unfortunately you’re wrong about the year I was born. You’re off by about seventy-nine years.”

“That’s impossible,” Palmer said, looking skeptical but also intrigued.

The green eyed woman shook her head. “We have two people who reincarnate whenever they die, an immortal terrorist, and a time traveling man. I don’t think the fact that I’m about one hundred sixteen years old should be too hard to believe.”

“Right…” Palmer slowly nodded.

“Now that we’ve gotten the age thing out of the way, I suggest you all strap yourselves in. Temporal navigation isn’t something one wants to be…” he gestured with his hands, “standing up for.”

As everyone strapped themselves in and everything started moving, Zoe noticed Jax was finally waking up. She wondered how he’d react to being on a time ship since he had been out for the whole thing.

“What the f-” He looked around frantically and tried to get out of his seat.

“I wouldn’t unfasten those if I were you,” Hunter advised.

Looking at the professor, he glared at him. “Get me off this...whatever this thing is!”

Sara looked amused. “Good luck explaining this.”

“I did him a favor,” Stein defended.

Snorting, Zoe shook her head. “Drugging someone and bringing them on a time ship isn’t a favor. It’s called kidnapping.”

“He doesn’t look all that grateful.” Snart had a smirk on his face.

Hunter, ever so calm, said, “Just hang on and remain calm.” His chair turned around so it was facing the large window. Then everything seemed to blur together; Zoe squeezed her eyes shut as the shift made her dizzy.

Then everything leveled out and the aircraft descended. Just as it touch ground, Rory threw up. Grimacing, Zoe blinked a few times and her vision cleared.

“Oh, I should have mentioned it before. Nausea is one of the effects of time travel, along with,” Palmer fell to the ground, “vertigo.”

“I can’t see.” Stein took off his glasses.

“And temporary blindness.” Hunter went over to Stein and waved a hand in his face. “It should only last a few minutes. That was a mere jump. The further back in time you go, the worst the side effects.”

Zoe rubbed her eyes. “This may have been a nice detail before we took off.”

“Yes. Well, we were busy discussing your age and it’s too late now,” Hunter said. Stein regained his sight and put his glasses back on.

Jax turned to Stein. “I can’t believe you kidnapped me.” Standing, he walked to Hunter. “I want to go home.”

Not even looking up from the screen, Hunter offhandedly commented, “Good news. 2016 will be around in, uh, forty-one years.”

“Forty-one years can go by really fast,” Zoe joked to the annoyed male, who just shook his head.

Turning to Snart, Rory, and Sara, Hunter seemed to have made up his mind. “Now you three and Zoe, feel free to make yourself comfortable back here on the ship.” Turning to the others, he said, “The rest of you will come with me to find Professor Boardman.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You’re benching us?” Rory looked put off.

Sara stood up. “I thought we were a team.”

“This doesn’t require your particular skill set. Yet,” Hunter tried to explain. The look on Sara’s face told Zoe that she was offended by his comment. The man apparently had a knack for offending people with his little comments.

“Meaning you don’t need anyone killed, maimed, robbed or,” he glanced at Zoe, “told the significance of archaeology?” The former archaeologist rolled her eyes.

“Precisely.” Hunter turned to leave, but Palmer stopped him as he voiced his concerns about leaving the two thieves on a time ship.

“They’ll be fine. Sara is here to stop them if need be. If Sara can’t, Zoe can just take their souls until we return.” Hunter nodded before turning away. “We better hurry up. Professor Boardman dies in less than twenty-four hours.”

Zoe turned them out as they started leaving. “He’s a real funny one, isn’t he?”

“Take their souls?” Jax stared at her questioningly.

Patting him on the arm, she gave him a smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t do it to you.”

“Uh...thanks, I think.”

“Aren’t you coming?” questioned Stein the younger male.

Crossing his arms, Jax turned away. “I’ll stay put.”

“You rather stay with them?” He gestured to Snark and Rory.

“They didn’t drug me,” he countered.

Nodding, the professor didn’t fight anymore. “Point taken.”

Once they were gone, Zoe slumped down in her seat. Rory seemed to have found a way to turn on the monitor so it acted like a television. Yet, what was playing was nothing that would interest him. He watched them for a while but was getting bored of it as each episode went by.

Finally, he asked, “Why does this stupid station play nothing but reruns?”

“Don’t,” Jax gestured to Sara and Zoe, “even bother trying to explain.”

“Wasn’t gonna.” Zoe put her hands up in front of her chest.

Sara looked at them. “Am I the only one on this ship who could really use a drink? I say we go get weird in the seventies.”

“Excellent idea.” She had never seen a man agree as fast as Snart.

Sara smiled. “I have the perfect outfit. What about you, Zoe?”

The brunette shook her head. “I’ve already lived through the seventies. Done a lot of weird stuff and I rather not repeat it.”

“Suite yourself.” She shrugged

As they all got up, minus Zoe, Gideon’s voice came over the ship. “Perhaps Captain Hunter wasn’t clear, but his instructions were to remain on board.”

“Shut it metal mouth,” Rory ordered, though Zoe was sure Gideon wouldn’t really listen to him. When the AI didn’t say anything, she was a bit surprised. Then again, Gideon might not be equipped to stop them.

“Whoa.” Snart put his hand up to stop Jax. “You aren’t quite ready enough to run with this crew. Sorry kid.” He sounded anything but sorry.

Jax’s mouth fell open. “Wait. You’re just going to leave me here?”

“I said I’d take care of you,” Snart called back. “Plus, you have her to keep you company.” He pointed at Zoe, who was sitting with both feet up, occupying two chairs.

Looking up, Zoe smiled. “We can do some bonding.” Pulling her feet off the seat, she patted the one next to her.

Sighing, Jax sat down. “Man, I hate this.”

“Listen, kid, you don’t want to grow up too fast. I know you think you’re an adult, but compared to me you haven’t seen anything.”

"We're like the same age," he pointed out.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Only physically." He looked confused as he had been knocked out when Palmer and Stein had questioned her age. She decided that if he really wanted to know he could ask the others or herself on a later date.

"Anyways, how about I show you a trick." Gesturing to her hands, he watched as they suddenly lit up a faint green.

“What is that?!” He jumped back when glowing spheres started to float from her hand and around their heads.

“They’re wandering souls. I can pull them from the spiritual plane at will. Most are eager to enter the living realm since they get to have a taste of life again.” She moved her hands around and the spheres hovered over her head in a perfect circle.

Reaching out, Jax poked one of them. “So they were people once?” His finger went through the sphere.

“You could say that, though they’d probably be the humans who have committed something horrendous in their living life. Depending on how I control them, they can just float around as a light source. If I feel really mean, I can just let them do what they want. These wandering souls do like to consume living souls on their own. If I weren’t controlling them, they’d have already taken your soul.”

Jax quickly pulled his finger away at her words. “So you’re like in control of the dead? Like a necromancer?” He leaned back.

Zoe looked at the spirit spheres thoughtfully. “Yeah. I guess I am like a necromancer, though I got these abilities from a God and not by magical means.”

“If they take human souls, wouldn’t they take your souls too?” he questioned.

She shook her head. “I’m missing a piece of my soul. Spirits prefer whole souls. Even if they tried taking my soul, I’m sure Osiris would resurrect me again…”

Closing her hands, the spirit spheres disappeared as quickly as they had come. Looking at Jax, she cocked her head to the side. “So what can you do?”

\----

After a while, Jax had gotten restless again. Zoe watched as he walked around the ship. “Gideon. That is your name, right?”

“How may I help you?” the AI questioned.

“I assume this ship has a, ah, autopilot or something.” He looked around as Zoe rolled her eyes, knowing what he wanted.

“You assume correctly,” Gideon confirmed.

Clapping his hands together, Jax smiled. “Great. In that case, I’m gonna need you to take me back to two thousand sixteen. See me being here is all a big mistake.”

“How much you want to bet she won’t do it?” Zoe called. He threw her a dirty look.

“Captain Hunter told me you would try to do this and he told me not to listen to anything that you say,” she answered. It almost sounded like the AI was amused.

Zoe snorted. “Told you.”

“Whoa, you are a computer! You have to listen to me!” Jax shouted, angrily. He stormed around the cockpit.

“You seem overwrought, Mr. Jackson. If you’d like to go to the med bay, I’d be happy to prescribe you a sedative,” she offered.

Zoe suppressed the urge to laugh. “I do not need another roofie!”

“Maybe not a roofie, but something to calm your anger might help,” the brunette commented and gave him a smirk from her chair.

Suddenly, the ship sparked and shook. “Fuck!” She found herself being thrown out of her seat.

“Whoa!” Jax tumbled to the ground. “What was that?!”

“A thermite grenade. It seem as if someone is trying to breach the hull.” Gideon sounded a bit concerned, though that might have been Zoe’s imagination.

She stood up and looked around frantically. “Who is it?”

“His name is Chronos. He’s a temporal bounty hunter,” she explained. “The ship is taking heavy fire.”

“You need to get us out of here. Now!” Jax yelled as he dodged the sparks coming from inside the ship.

“I’ll try and distract him. Hopefully Hunter will be here by then,” Zoe called as she ran off towards the exit, grabbing her weapons on her chair before she left.

“Ms. Marshals, you must be careful. A single blast from him will completely erase you,” Gideon warned.

Zoe shook her head. “Thanks for the advice, but I’m sure I’ll be okay.” Hands glowing green, she ground her teeth as she directed her powers to the ground. “Plenty of dead things around here.”

Suddenly the ground started shaking and parts of it crumbled. The armored man aimed his weapon at Zoe, but suddenly a skeletal hand shot out under him and grabbed his legs. Caught off guard, the hunter’s blast shot off into the sky. As he kicked the hand off him, more undead beings came from the ground. Some were complete skeletons while others were half rotten corpses with scraps of clothes still attached to them.

Pulling out both khopeshes from her sheaths, Zoe charged forward. Her eyes seemed to glow. As Chronos shot at the undead, she sliced at him with the curve of her blades. Metal hit metal as he blocked her attack with the side of his weapon.

Swiping with the other blade, she hooked the side of his weapon with the hooked end of her other khopesh. Pulling it down, she gave him a swift kick to the chest, which sent him flying back a few feet. He quickly got up and aimed his weapon at her. Zoe jumped out of the way just as it hit where she was standing. Another blast came toward her, but one of the undead skeletons jumped in the way. It was completely vaporized to not even dust.

“Fuck…” she ground out. Picking herself up, she continued to dodge the green blasts. Most of her undead had been vaporized. Only one was left and she didn’t think it would last very long.

Just as he aimed at her again, something swooped down and hit him in the chest. “Carter?!”

She was never so happy to see someone in her life. Kendra came flying down and gave him a hard kick to the chest. As she fought him, Zoe pulled herself together. She ran towards Kendra, who was attempting to maneuver his weapon away from her. Carter smashed Chronos’s face with his mace and sent him flying off the winged woman.

Taking her chance, Zoe brought her blades down on him. He rolled away just as she almost loped off his head. Suddenly blue beams were being shot at them. Ducking, a blue blast hit Chronos dead center. Glancing around, she saw Hunter and the others, with a man she had never seen, hiding behind a giant wheel.

“Hey!” she shouted in their direction. “Watch where you aim that!” Suddenly, she was tackled by one of the rotten corpses. She fell to the ground and saw it get destroyed by Chronos’s weapon.

Running behind a boulder, she watched as Chronos and Hunter shot at each other. She saw Stein and Palmer running across the field. “Those idiots!” she thought, as Stein nearly was shot.

When a red car hit Chronos, Zoe sighed in relief to see Snart, Sara, and Rory come out. She never thought she’d be grateful to see two criminals and an assassin. Suddenly Palmer, now in his super suit, and Jax, who was bonded with Stein, came flying out of the ship.

“What I wouldn’t do for long range abilities.” Zoe sighed as she headed for the ship. It seemed everyone with a long range weapon could handle Chronos better than she could. She was better at mid to short range combat.

They all managed to get on. Hunter got the ship going and they were off again. They ended up in the temporal zone. Zoe sighed as she relaxed a bit. It had been a while since she had to fight and she was very rusty.

As Hunter lectured Kendra and Carter about bringing Boardman on the ship, Zoe rubbed her head. Using her abilities for the first time in many years also put a strain on her physically. It was as if she was brand new to them, but not using them tended to make her body feel off.

“Did I see a zombies come from the ground?” questioned Jax.

Looking up, Zoe shrugged. “They’re nothing like those zombie films. They don’t hunger flesh or brains.”

“Nice to know.” He shook his head as if seeing the undead move was the craziest thing that had happened to him.

Kendra suddenly punched Hunter in the face. “My son is hurt because of you. Who attacked us?!”

Hunter sighed. “Something of a long story.”

“Better tell it fast, Rip, ‘cause it doesn’t look like the lady is in a patient mood,” Snart commented, looking amused.

Carter came forward, his face passive but anger boiled underneath. “Neither am I.”

“His name is Chronos. He works for the council of Time Masters.” Kendra released her hold on him. “My former employers.”

Sara stood up. “I thought you were a Time Master.” Everyone eyed Hunter with suspicion.

“As I’ve expressed, time is not a linear thing. At some point I was a Time master.” Hunter walked toward the rest group, but Sara suddenly hit him.

“Will you people stop hitting me!”

Sara gave him a hard look. “Start telling the truth!”

Throwing his hands in the air, Hunter explained, “I relinquished my position as Time Master when I got the Wave Rider. Chronos was clearly sent to bring me in.”

Stein stared at him as if he couldn’t believe the man before him. “You lied to us.”

“Of course I lied to you. I needed your help,” he commented as if it should have been known.

Jax crossed his arms. “What about the legends part?”

When Hunter didn’t answer right away, Snart spoke. “You lied about that too, didn’t you?”

A look of defeat passed through Hunter’s eyes. “I chose you all because a hundred years from now you have no affect on the recorded time line.” He looked around. “I needed your help without disturbing the history of twenty-one sixty-six.”

“We’re expendable to you, is that it?” Zoe questioned, anger in her voice. Her green eyes seemed to glow brighter.

Hunter backed up. "Of course you're not expendable. You're just not..." he trailed off as he realized anything he said would just upset everyone more.

Jax sighed. “So we’re the opposite of legends…”

Rory narrowed his eyes. “Give us one good reason why we shouldn’t kill you.”

“Ditto the arsonist,” Stein agreed.

Hunter didn’t miss a beat. “Because Gideon wouldn’t listen to your commands and you’d be stuck here forever?”

Standing up, Zoe glared at him as her eyes glowed brighter and brighter. “I should just let your soul be taken, but your soul isn’t even worth it!” She stormed out of the cockpit without another word.

\----

Zoe had found a place on the ship to hide out. A small darken corner that no one went by so far. She needed to be alone with herself as she thought about what Hunter had said to them. She wasn’t even hurt that he had lied to them about being a Time Master. She was mad at the fact that he told them they had no significance on the timeline.

Staring at her hands, Zoe wondered why she even came on this trip. She could have denied Osiris and ran off to another place. Running had been her answer to everything when she was brought back a year after she died. Every time she got too comfortable in a new place, she knew she had to leave. Every person in her life was fed a lie of who she was, where she came from and anything else she needed in order to keep up her ruse.

The so called gift Osiris gave her was more of a curse. She aged so slow that even in the ninety-two years of her life, she still looked much unchanged. The people she loved died as she stayed young. She hadn't known about her inability to age and eventually married. As her husband aged and she didn't, she realized something was wrong with her. By the time he was fifty, he couldn't look at her without comparing himself to her ageless beauty. He eventually took his own life because of the constant comments of how much older he was to his wife. He left her behind with their four year old son.

Zoe had been devastated by his death. She feared that her own child would be driven to that same choice once he was old enough to realize that his mother wasn't normal. She had to give up her own child; she still remembered his smiles as she dropped him off at a friends place never to return. She watched him from the shadows as he grew up in another family. He died young and with the thought that his own mother abandoned him.

“You are troubled.” She didn’t even look up to know Anubis was there. She had felt the warm wind.

“Should I be happy that despite how long I live, I’ll never contribute anything to history?” She scoffed. “I couldn’t even contribute a lineage to history. My husband killed himself because of me! My own son died at the age of eighteen and I couldn’t do anything about it. I had to watched him from the shadows as he grew up believing his mother left him at the age of eight because she couldn't take care of him. Even my own powers aren't any use. I can only bring people back to life as mindless, soulless puppets!"

The God stared down at her. “The gifts Osiris gave you were intended for you to help people. I know in the past, people were not welcome to your abilities. They feared what you could do. Do not give up, Ankh. Osiris wouldn’t have chosen you if he did not think you could not change the future.”

Looking at him, she shook her head. “I’m tired of this. I just want to die normally. I just want to be human again.”

“Until you have completed your mission, Osiris will not allow you to die. You may try to, but he will bring you back like he did before,” the jackal warned. "He has also accepted your request, but with the condition that if he does allow your future generation to be free of carrying out this task, you will forever remain as you are now."

Zoe shook her head. "Always a condition with this God. I...I need to think about it."

Anubis nodded. "Of course. Take your time."

“So, what am I supposed to do? You probably know what Hunter said about us. We don’t make an impact on history at all.” She stared at the ground as if hoping it would burst into flames.

Crossing his arms, he gave her a smirk, which showcased mouth full of sharp teeth. “Time is never set. It is always changing. Always moving by the slightest action. Neith has made many futures for you in her loom. Do not let this Hunter pick your future. Follow the one you wish and help create a new pattern.”

With that advice, he vanished. Zoe stared at the spot he had stood, contemplating his words. Standing up from her hiding place, she squared her shoulders. Her green eyes held a determination that hadn’t been there in a very long time. She was ready to make her own path in Neith’s loom.

When she went in, everyone was already gathered. The atmosphere in the room wasn’t as tense as it had been. Hunter was nodding with a small smile on his face while everyone else looked as determined as Zoe.

“Did I miss the part where we hold hands and sing Kumbaya?” Sarcasm dripped from her voice, but she was no longer angry.

“Good you’re here. Everyone has decided to continue on this adventure. What about you, Zoe?” Hunter asked.

The brunette looked at everyone in the room. “I’m in.”

Sara stepped forward. “So, how do we find this guy?”

Hunter sat in his seat. “Professor Boardman had a theory about that.” He strapped himself in. “I had Gideon plot a course.”

They were off again to save the future.


	2. Mission failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time Zoe’s life was changed was when she died while excavating a tomb with her archaeology team and then brought back to life. Given abilities by the Egyptian God of the Underworld, Osiris, she didn’t think her life could change anymore. When a time traveler tells her she’s needed to help save the future, Zoe wonders if it would have been better to have died in that tomb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited the first chapter a bit and added new information on Zoe that I think was needed in the first chapter. I'll mostly be following the episodes as they go. There might be some parts that are cut out.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Norway,” Zoe confessed as she, Palmer, Snart and Rory walked towards Hunter’s closet that made clothes.

“Why? There’s nothing there.” Rory made a face.

Shrugging, she glanced at the bald man. “I’ve just wanted to travel the world. I’ve been to about twenty different countries in my lifetime. I would go to more places, but traveling has become way too expensive.”

“If you’ve lived so long, why didn’t you accumulate money?” Zoe could hear Palmer talking about making a plan while Snart questioned his experience with this kind of thing.

She chuckled at the image of Palmer ever participating in an arms deal. “Oh, I did save up money. Most of it is in a Swiss bank in case I ever need it for emergencies. I just don’t really like spending money. Plus, traveling was much cheaper and the fact that it became more and more expensive put a damper on my desire to spend more.”

Rory looked interested. “It’s a waste to let money sit in a bank.”

“What? I should spend it on something? Like more parts for a heat gun?” She teased and gave him a smirk.

The arguing between Hunter and Snart drew both their attention to what was going on. “Do I need to remind any of you that I’m a Time Master? Making discrete alterations to the timeline is what I do,” Hunter said, annoyed.

Zoe huffed. “I think you’ve mentioned that a couple of times since we’ve met.”

He ignored her comment. “We’re not going to charge into the past like a bully into a china shop.”

“After what you told us about the mission turned out to be lies.” Rory didn’t sound all to happy.

“None of you have ever encountered Vandal Savage before. I have and I’m telling you now, you are making a big mistake,” he argued.

Palmer gave a dry laugh. “I did that when I trusted you.” Then he and Snart turned their backs on him and continued onward.

“Be back soon, Captain,” Rory mumbled as he passed the man.

Zoe stood there for a moment. She shook her head. “Maybe if you had told us the truth in the first place, you would have more cooperation from everyone.”

He raised his hand to stop her further comment. “I know that.”

The brunette walked closer to him. “I’m not sure you do.” Then she followed after the three men, leaving Hunter by himself.

\----

“I don’t remember the last time I wore pants like these.” Zoe glanced at the dark bellbottom jeans she wore.

Sara had tied a bandana around her head. “At least they’re comfortable.”

“True.” She doubled checked to make sure everything was in place. She draped a long leather jacket over her shoulders instead of putting it on properly. It would be bothersome if she needed to fight and she had that on.

“Is bringing those necessary?” Stein pointed to Zoe’s sheathed weapons. They hung on either side of her hip.

The female nodded. “It’s not like I’ll be the only one carrying a weapon with them to this. Plus, they’re hidden under the coat.” She buttoned up the jacket, that came just at her knees, just so that the weapons were hidden.

Stein still looked skeptical. “I hope you don’t plan to kill anyone.”

“Wouldn’t be my first time, Professor, but I’ll try not to.” She smiled sweetly.

As they made their way to the building, a variety of people passed by. They didn’t look like the sort of people you would want to have a tea party with.

Sara let out a long sigh. “Looks like they’re checking credentials, and we don’t have any.”

“We go this. Trust us.” Rory sounded confident.

Zoe watched as Snart purposefully bumped into another man. He skillfully took something from the man’s pocket without even alerting the other. Once the man passed, the thief flashed an orange piece card he had taken from him.

“IDs,” the man at the door requested. Snart handed him the card he had just taken.

The man looked at the card and looked at Snart. “You don’t look like an Amhad Ahmed Izz-Al-Din.”

“I’m Arab on my mother’s side,” Snart said though the man didn’t look to believe him. Zoe’s left hand started to wander to the hilt of her khopesh.

Suddenly, Stein butted in. “Is there a problem?!” He sounded angry. “I don’t like delays. Do you know who we are?” Zoe dropped her hand.

The man looked confused. Zoe muttered under her breath, “I don’t even know who we are.”

Stein continued. “My associates and I are the operational arm of "Scimitar." The Lombardo Square bombing, 1963. Murder of Henri Tyran, Canada, 1970. Konig Airport Massacre, 1971. Bottom line? You don't want to doubt me.”

Snart snatched back the card as the man shook his head. He stepped aside for them to pass. Zoe was impressed by Stein’s show and the fact that he had the guts to outright lie without even hesitating the slightest.

Rory wrapped an arm around the man. “You’re a special kind of crazy. I like it.”

Giving him a rough pat on the back, Zoe chuckled. “Not bad, Professor. Didn’t know you had it in you.”

As they made their way through the building, she could hear Jax complaining about not being able to join the group. He was with Kendra and Carter; Zoe knew she should have been with them too.

“Savage will be one of the buyers. Once we get eyes on, hang back. We'll boost him once this is all over,” Snart said.

“What does this man even look like?” Zoe asked. So far she hadn’t seen a picture of this man since she had apparently missed the briefing part of what Savage looked like.

“You’ll know when you see him,” Carter said through the communication device.

Rolling her eyes, though the male couldn’t see, she mumbled, “I’ll be sure to look for the man that radiates evil.”

Seeming to ignore her last comment, Carter asked, “Any sign of him?”

Snart glanced around. “No.”

“He’s not here, boss,” Rory confirmed.

Zoe wandered a bit away from the group as her gaze fell on to the stage where most of the people were gathered. She nearly bumped into a man in a long black coat as people pushed forward. Her eyes briefly met his and her blood ran cold. She knew this man, but it couldn’t be possible as she had met him many years ago.

He didn’t give her a second a glance at her as he seemed in a hurry. “He should be dead…” She stared as he headed for the stage.

“If I could have your attention.” Another man stood on the stage. “Thank you all for coming. I promise, it will be well worth your time.” The man from before mounted the stage and turned to the audience.

She managed to get back to the group as the man introduced his weapon. “This is a variable-yield nuclear warhead, capable of producing a blast equivalent to one megaton of TNT.”

As the bidding started, Zoe just stared at Savage. He looked exactly the same when she first met him. She only knew him briefly but at the time, she didn’t think he was evil and he went by a different name. He was a strange man but highly intelligent.

She quickly ducked behind Rory as his gaze suddenly shifted to their group. His accomplice and he mumbled to each other as they eyed them. Everyone noticed the attention they were getting and Stein quickly called for a plan to start bidding.

“Wait!” Too late, Rory fired his gun. She flinched at the sound it made. “What if we actually win this? It’s not like we have the money to pay for a nuclear warhead,” Zoe hissed.

“It’s highly unlikely we will actually win,” Stein replied. The green eyed woman looked skeptical though she was still hidden behind Rory’s large frame.

There was a long pause as no one else fired their guns. The group grew tense as the the stretch of silence went on.

“Uh...what’s happening?” Sara questioned.

“Going once.”

Stein glanced around. “It’s what’s not happening that is the concern.”

“Going twice.”

“Nobody else is bidding,” Snart commented as he too looked around.

“Sold!”

Zoe let out a groan. “Congratulations, Professor. You just bought yourself a nuclear weapon," Snart said, dryly.

“Well, well,” a man in gray approached them, “we seem to have a new player. But you seem a bit academic. How did you get in here and who are you?”

“As of a few seconds ago, I'm a nuclear power,” Stein replied, trying to dodge the questions.

The man looked skeptical. “Yet I don't know you or your organization, and I know everyone.”

Rory stepped forward. “Hey.” He tapped the man on the shoulder, giving him a warning look. “Back off.”

Gray outfit didn’t seem to like that. “Watch your tone.”

Zoe’s eyes widened as Savage got off the stage and came towards the group. She kept her head lowered as he came closer. This wasn’t turning out the way they had planned and she had a feeling things were going to get even worse.

“Is there some sort of problem here?” Savage asked. His eyes scanned the group and Zoe could feel him staring at her as she kept her head lowered.

Rory narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, the master race here is starting to bug me.”

Before he could say more, Snart butted in and gently pulled Rory back. “We're just gonna get our nuclear warhead and be on our way.”

“Not without paying first,” the man on the stand called.

Zoe could feel all the eyes in the room on them. People seemed to be shifting closer to the group as if anticipating a fight. Her hands were starting to itch to grab the hilts of her khopesh. She kept herself alert as Stein attempted to alleviate the stressful situation.

“Once we've validated that the warhead's operational. Personally, I find it highly unlikely that you were able to accumulate enough fissionable material in this era to fashion a workable nuclear device.” Zoe tensed at the Professor’s words and prayed no one noticed his slip of the tongue.

Of course the Gods weren’t listening. “This era?” Savage looked at him, intrigued and skeptical.

Stein’s jaw twitched as he realized his mistake. “Figure of speech.”

As Savage went to the stage, Zoe unbuttoned the buttons of her jacket as she tensed. “Change of plans. I'll provide a 25% discount to the organization which brings me the heads of these men.”

As Rory drew his heat gun and blasted, Zoe threw her coat in the face of one of the men closet to her causing him to be momentarily distracted. She quickly withdrew her blades and attacked the people around her.

Chaos reigned over the room as the group fought off the others. She tried to use her blades to block other weapons and kick away her attackers rather than kill them. Killing would be easier, but she had a feeling Hunter wouldn’t be too pleased if too many people died. She was relieved that Kendra, Carter and Palmer had arrived as well, though Palmer had been in Stein’s pocket the whole time.

As everyone fought, Zoe found herself being forced toward the stage where Savage stood watching the entire fight. She hooked one of the guns being pointed at her and swiftly kicked the man in the side of his head. She spun around as someone else came at her from behind. Ducking, she sliced her attacker on the arm causing him to scream out and drop his weapon.

Her eyes met Savage’s. He stared at her and recognition came to his eyes. “Zoe…” he mouthed.

The color drained from her face. Suddenly, Carter and Kendra flew onto the stage. Savage’s attention was now on them. Keeping an eye on the two, as it was her mission to protect them, Zoe fought off the coming attackers.

Some men got through her and were after the two. Zoe was too busy to help, but she had a feeling they could take care of some random thugs. Savage was another matter, but the man escaped.

“Um, we have a nuclear bomb here!” Sara called as she stared at the ticking timer.

Though Palmer tried to help, the timer just accelerated to thirty seconds. Zoe didn’t want to try death by nuclear explosion even if she was brought back to perfect life.

Suddenly Jax, as Firestorm, grabbed the bomb and took it out of the building.

“Let’s get out of here!” Zoe cried as she kicked another man down. The group quickly made their way out of the building. As they headed out, they felt a wave of heat wash over them. Shaking it off, they continued their trek towards the time ship.

\----

As everyone argued over whose fault it was that the mission went horribly, Zoe was in her own thoughts. She was still thinking about Savage and how he knew who she. Now, he knew she was still alive and the same as when he met her. She had to tell the group about this, but how was she going to do it lightly?

“At least there’s one last nuclear bomb on the planet,” Kendra said, trying to find the bright side of the failed mission.

Hunter slowly clapped. “Hear, hear. Now you all deserve a hearty congratulations,” he said, sarcastically. “Not only did you fail to capture Savage, you exposed yourselves and your powers to him, giving away the element of surprise for now and all time. Well done team”

“We don’t need the element of surprise,” Carter argued. “We know he's in Norway, so let's find him-”

“Unfortunately,” Hunter cut him off, “we now have larger problems than Savage. If only you'd have listened to me about the dangers of upsetting the timeline.” He slammed his hands on the table.

“What are you talking about?” Kendra asked, sounding exasperated.

Hunter gave her a look. “While you were busy saving Norway from nuclear annihilation-”

“You’re welcome Norway,” Rory commented.

The time master ignored his comment. “-Savage sent one of his cronies back to the site of the arms sale. Anyone care to guess what he found?”

Zoe glanced around. Palmer was looking over himself and stared at his arm. “Whoops.”

Gideon suddenly appeared. “I am unversed in modern American colloquialisms. Is "Whoops" slang for "Oh"?”

“Yes. Dr. Palmer seems to have thrown a spanner in the works for the entire timeline.”

“Come again?”

“Armed with Dr. Palmer's future technology, Savage's engineers develop a weapon far more destructive than anything here in 1975.” Hunter pressed a button and a hologram of Central City appeared. “This is Central City in 2016. At least it was. I'm not sure what the neo-fascists who took control of it are calling it these days.”

Zoe stared at the hologram. It looked just like the Central City hologram Hunter had shown them on the roof except it had been far off into the future. As everyone looked at the hologram, Stein stepped forward looking scared.

“T-there must be a way to correct this somehow.”

Hunter sighed. “Fortunately, Gideon is just showing us a forecast of the future you've all created. Time is like cement. It takes time to become permanent. In this case, until Savage's team have worked out the mystery of your future technology and molded it to their own ends. And when they do, what you see here is no longer just a forecast. This.” He sighed. “This is history.”

\----

As Palmer, Snart and Rory went off to collect a dagger and Sara, Jax and Stein went to steal some future tech from younger Stein, Zoe sat in the corner of the time ship that had become her little cubbie when she needed to think.

Hunter didn’t seem to mind that she decided to stay behind. Kendra and Carter were also on the ship. The time master had gone off to his quarters to do some research, or so he said. She didn’t really care where he was as long as he wasn’t bothering her.

Closing her eyes, she focused her thoughts on Anubis. She needed someone who wasn’t in the group to talk to. Plus, he wasn’t going to tell anyone what she said since he probably had better things to do than gossip about her to the dead souls.

“Ankh, what do you need?” She opened her eyes to the sight of the jackal God standing over her.

“I wanted…” she paused, then continued, “I wanted some advice.”

If he had a human head, Zoe was sure he would have been raising an eyebrow. “I will try and advise you as best as I can.”

“Did you know I met Vandal Savage in the early 50s?” she asked.

“I do not watch over your life, but I’m sure Osiris did," was his reply.

She frowned. “I met him but didn’t know who he was. He wasn’t a bad man from what I could tell, though I was never comfortable around him when I was alone with him. He moved soon after so I only knew him for a few months. I think I should tell the others, but I don’t want them to think badly of me...”

“Zoe,” he spoke her real name, something very rare, “I believe you should do what you think is right. It is up to you whether you believe this is important or not.”

She stared at him silently for a while. “I’ll...think about.”

“Is that all?” The God helped her up.

“For now. Thanks, Anubis.” She smiled gratefully at him. Nodding, he turned and disappeared.

Zoe sighed as she made her way through the ship. “Gideon?”

“Yes, Ms. Marshals.”

“Um...do you listen in on people’s conversations?” She was now remembering that the AI was the entire ship.

“I am part of the ship, Ms. Marshals, but I keep anything said in private absolutely confidential unless it might endanger anyone on the ship,” she replied.

Zoe shook her head. “You don’t think what I just said might be...bad?”

Gideon seemed to pause. “Well, from what I observed, you were talking to yourself, though I assume that was not the case. Nevertheless, I do not see what you said to be endangering to anyone.”

“Oh...thanks, Gideon.” The dark skinned woman now wondered if anyone who came upon her talking to Anubis all thought she was crazy as they couldn’t see him.

She wandered to the head of the ship. Carter was there alone looking frustrated. “Where’s Kendra?”

“She needed a break,” he replied.

Zoe raised an eyebrow at his tone. “I’m assuming she needed a break from you.”

He turned to her and seemed to be contemplating something. Finally, he spoke, “Do you believe in destiny?”

“I believe that there is a higher power, but I don’t believe that we have no control over our own lives. Is Kendra questioning her being with you?” She crossed her arms. The look on his face told her she hit the nail on the head.

“We’ve lived so many lives and in every lifetime, we were together. We’re destined to be together from the moment we died in our first life,” he explained.

Zoe shook her head. “Just because she fell in love with you in those other lifetimes, doesn’t mean she has to in this one or the next. If you truly love her than let her decide what she wants to do.”

He sighed. “You’re right. Thank you.”

“It’s what I’m here for. Well this and making sure you two don’t die,” she chuckled.

\----

“We should have picked up some donuts on our way back,” Jax complained. Zoe came out to greet them, having been on her way to find Hunter, but hearing their voices, she decided to see the others.

“I thought I heard a stomach growling,” she said, a small smirk on her face. “I assume everything went well?”

“Just dandy. We got Ray’s laser thing and saved the future,” Sara answered, she was smiling more than Zoe had seen before.

The dark haired woman leaned closer to Sara and sniffed. She made a face. “Someone has had a few joints or three.”

Stein looked horrified as he stared at his left hand. “Oh, my God. My ring. When you knocked me out, I must not have woken up, or did, and decided not to go to the mixer. Clarissa.”

Suddenly a young man Zoe hadn’t seen before walked onto the ship. His was mouth open and his eyes wide. “Holy crap! Now, do you want to tell me who you are and where you're from?”

Jax, Stein and Sara both looked horrified while Zoe just looked between them and the unknown male. Finally she stepped toward the male and held out her hand. He just stared at it and then her.

Zoe sighed. “Well I can see that people here don’t have manners.” She turned to the group. “So, who is this?”

Before anyone could answer, the male pushed himself past them and went further on the ship. Stein quickly ran after him. The other three followed behind as the young male marveled at the time ship.

He pointed at something on the ship. “Un-believable! Is that a tachyon manifold?

Jax voiced a question most of them were wondering. “Hey, how did you find us, man?”

“You think I couldn't build something to track my own tracker?” He looked angry as if Jax’s question was demeaning his intellect.

“Do you have any idea what you have done?!” Stein suddenly asked, furious almost.

He turned to Stein. “What I've done? You guys knocked me out!”

Stein seemed to be turning a slight pink color as his anger rose. “Which we wouldn't have had to do in the first place if you weren't such a monumental jerk!”

Jax quickly went over and grabbed Stein’s arm. “Okay, uh, can I just yeah.” He pulled the Professor away from the other male.

“You two watch him, Sara. Zoe.” Stein glared at him before following Jax.

Zoe shrugged. “So, Martin was it?”

“H-how’d you know my name?” He stared at her with slight apprehension.

She just smiled. “Good guess?”

He threw his hands in the air. “Hey. Come on. Can someone please tell me what's going on?”

Stein and Jax came back. “You didn't say anything to him?” Stein looked worried.

Sara shook her head. “I figured we screwed up the '70s enough.”

Younger Stein’s eyes widened. “Hey, w-what are you talking about? A-are you saying that you're-”

“Don't say another word. Don't even think it.” Stein interrupted. He held the device he was holding out to his younger self. “You are to get off this ship, post-haste.”

“Oh, wonderful.” Hunter came in and looked at younger Stein. “Another unauthorized passenger. That worked out so splendidly last time.”

“It's all right. He was just leaving," Stein assured.

“I’ll show you out,” Jax said. The male didn't budge as he seemed to have a question.

“So, have we met before?” His were eyes on his older self.

Stein paused, then spoke, “In a manner of speaking. Ha-have a wonderful life, Martin. I mean that sincerely.”

As Sara pushed him towards Jax, the younger Stein kept looking at his older self. He was trying to figure out who he was. Zoe wondered if he ever would or he’d forget about this encounter since it seemed Stein had no memories of meeting himself.

Hunter just shook his head. “I am not even going to ask.”

“It’s for the best,” Zoe said as she watched younger Stein leave.

Gideon’s voice suddenly came on. “Captain Hunter, we're getting an incoming communication from Mr. Snart on Mr. Rory's comm unit.”

Exchanging looks, Hunter asked for Gideon to have it on speaker. Snart’s voice came on. “'I’ll make this short. The owner of the mansion we burgled is Vandal Savage. He's really interested in meeting you guys, especially our feathered friends.”

Hunter turned to them. Kendra and Carter came down the hall. “They have the dagger.”

“And Savage has them,” Sara reminded.

“Doesn't matter,” Carter called. “Just get me close enough, and I'll do what needs to be done.”

Gideon had the coordinates and the entire team was ready to go. Zoe felt something twist in her stomach as they made their way to Savage. She felt a sense of fear, which hadn’t been felt in a long time. Something was going to happen. She had a feeling it wasn't something good.

\----

Zoe’s fist collided with the cool metal of the ship. The pain that shot through her hand and arm was nothing compared to the anger at herself and sadness for Kendra she felt. Carter Hall was dead; killed by Savage. Kendra was in a precarious situation between life and death. All because she didn’t do her job of protecting either of them.

Instead of going with them to confront Savage, she had stayed outside to fend off Savage’s goonies. Despite feeling like something bad was going to happen, instead of listening to her gut instincts, she had stayed with the others. She was the reason Carter was dead and Kendra was close to it.

“Damn it!” Her fist again collided with the metal of the ship. “Damn it all!” Her cries echoed through the halls of the ship.

“Zoe…” Anubis stood behind her, watching as the woman leaned her back against the wall and slid down to the floor. Her fists were bloody and raw from her previous abuse.

“Leave me alone, Anubis,” she said, not looking at him as she stared off.

He did not come closer to her. “Osiris wanted to send a message. He is disappointed that Khufu has died again, but there is still a chance to save Chay-Ara and kill Hath-Set.”

“No,” she mumbled.

“What?” The jackal’s eyes narrowed.

“No. No more. I don’t want this life anymore. I’ve never wanted this life. Wasn’t it evident when I first tried to kill myself that I didn’t want this? Yet he brought me back to life every single time. There was nothing I could do, so I gave up trying to die and decided try living.” Her eyes met the God’s.

“I tried being a hero. It didn’t work out because people were scared of me. I tried being the bad guy, it was the easiest thing for me to kill without remorse. Yet, I couldn’t continue doing it, not with the looks I got from the only friends I had who I lost too. I even tried to do this stupid mission, and one person is dead and the other is close on her way because of me!” She buried her face in her arms.

“Zoe?” It was not Anubis’s voice. Hunter stood a few feet away and he came closer. He had heard her voice in the hall and had come to investigate.

She shook her head, eyes trained on the ground. “Leave me alone, please.”

“It’s not your fault,” the time master said, quietly.

She laughed dryly. “Yes it is. I didn’t do my job to protect those two. There’s more blood on my hands now.” She roughly wiped away the tears still on her face. “I can’t even bring him back to life for you unless you don’t mind a soulless corpse.”

Hunter knelt down to her level. “It wasn’t your fault. Savage is the one to blame for killing Carter. You couldn’t have known this would happen.”

“I didn’t follow my instincts even though they told me something bad was going to happen. Kendra was right about my ancestors not doing a good job at protecting them. They at least had an excuse of only living one life while I have 166 years of experience. Yet, I still managed to fail.” She clenched her fists tightly.

The male put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Zoe, I can’t imagine what your life was like living for so long, but I know you shouldn’t blame yourself for this. Every one of us feels the same way, that we could have done more.”

Zoe just continued to look at the ground. “We’ve all decided to continue hunting down Savage. You do not have to stay, Zoe. I can drop you back off at your time before we go if you wish.”

“...I...what about Carter’s body? We left him at Savage’s place.” Her eyes flickered to Hunter’s face.

“We’re planning on getting it back,” he replied, gaze determined.

She sighed. “I’ll stay.” She stood up, eyes slightly red and knuckles still caked in blood. “It’s the least I can do after I got him killed.”


End file.
